1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of and an apparatus for performing network or access point handoff based upon historical pathway, within a wireless communication network environment such as IEEE 802.11, BLUETOOTH™, Ultra-Wideband (UWB) or any other wireless environment. In particular, the present invention relates to a method of and a system of using historical pathway information to handoff wireless connection from one network to another or from one access point to another. The present invention can be implemented in a wireless network device, which may include discrete devices or which may be implemented on a semiconductor substrate such as a silicon chip.
2. Description of the Related Art
Currently, cables and wires are predominantly used as the communication medium for transferring information such as voice, video, data, etc. from one source to another. For example, cables or wires are commonly used to set up networking infrastructures in business offices, and are also used for personal home computing, and for connecting to the Internet. Therefore, cables and wires are generally used to configure a wired network wherein the cables and wires physically connect one or more device(s) to the wired network. Given the stationary nature of the wired devices, the devices can establish communication sessions with one or more other devices that are also physically connected to the network without concerns of communication coverage or drop-off.
On the other hand, as wireless technology continues to advance and grow, the usage and the popularity of wireless devices will also increase and grow. Therefore, there may be an increase in wireless cell networks for providing connection of wireless services therein. Since wireless devices can move from one geographic location to another, it may be important to provide wireless connection as the wireless devices move from one wireless cell to anther wireless cell.